Priest tells of 'very peculiar experience'

Father Pierantoni (right): "Already in paradise"

Father Guiseppe Pierantoni has told of his "very peculiar experience" at the hands of his kidnappers, revealing that he ate iguanas and jellyfish during his six-month capture and sometimes "lived like monkeys" in trees.

It was interesting to listen to their experience of suffering and hopes of liberating Mindanao

Guiseppe Pierantoni

The Italian priest told the French news agency AFP that he and his kidnappers lived a very simple life in the southern Philippine jungles:

"Sometimes, I ate mostly rice, with something we got from nature like fish and vegetables from the forest," he said.

"I ate also very strange things, including jellyfish and iguanas and potatoes which are poisonous and have to be prepared very carefully to be edible."

'Interesting' dialogue

He explained that the rebels' attempts to avoid capture by the Philippine army often drove them into the trees, adding that "my enemy in the morning is my business partner at night", - looking out for hostile fire.

But despite his gruelling ordeal, Father Pierantoni said it was "interesting" to learn about his kidnappers' motives:

"It was an experience of dialogue, because they were Muslims with very simple ideas of their religion. It was interesting to listen to their experience of suffering and hopes of liberating Mindanao," he said.

The 45-year-old priest said he wanted to return home to reassure his elderly parents, who at one point had believed that he was dead, but that he would return to his parish in Zamboanga del Sur province soon.

"I want to go back to the south surely; I don't think they will kidnap me again, do you?"